Computers & Peripherals: August 15, 1996

Pentium Pro CPU board has dual-bus passive backplane.

Equipped with both PCI- and ISA-bus expansion interfaces, the Hammerhead passive-backplane CPU board sports a 150-MHz Pentium Pro processor with 256 kbytes of L2 cache. The board drives as many as four PCI slots and comes with two RS-232C serial ports and one parallel port. The device accommodates as many as 512 Mbytes of onboard DRAM. The Hammerhead costs $4900 (not including DRAM). A system consisting of an 11-slot dual-bus passive backplane (four PCI slots, six ISA slots, and one slot for the CPU) costs from $5900. I-Bus Division of Maxwell Laboratories, San Diego, CA. (619) 974-8400.

DSVD fax/modem transmits at up to 28.8 kbps.

Compatible with Windows 95 and 3.1, DOS 5.0, and OS/2 3.0 and up, the SmartLink DocuPal Mwave V.34 DSVD fax/modem multiplexes voice and data for simultaneous transmission over a single phone line. DocuPal regulates the stream so that data transmitting at 28.8 kbps without voice automatically drops to 14.4 kbps when you add voice. Audio/MIDI functions allow music, voice-over, and 3-D effects. The board comes with software for simultaneous communication among up to eight workstations. DocuPal costs $439. Archtek America Corp, City of Industry, CA. (818) 912-9800.

133-MHz notebook PC has 12.1-in. display.

In addition to a Pentium processor running at 133 MHz, the Tecra 720CDT notebook computer features a 12.1-in. active-matrix display with 1024×768-pixel resolution. Multimedia cap-abilities include MPEG full-motion video playback; 6X CD-ROM drive; and 16-bit, full-duplex audio. The system holds up to 144 Mbytes of system memory, as well as a removable 1.2-Gbyte hard-disk drive. System performance is enhanced, thanks to both an internal PCI system bus and an external PCI- expansion bus. The Tecra 720CDT has an estimated price of $7499. Toshiba, Computer Systems Division, Irvine, CA. (800) 334-3445.

MO drive transfers data at 4 Mbytes/sec.

The Beluga 2.6-Gbyte magneto-optical (MO) multifunction drive writes at 2× the speed of current 5.25-in. MO drives. Using the vendor's Light Intensity Modulation-Direct Overwrite (LIM-DOW) technology, the Beluga reduces the overwriting process to a single pass. The unit provides a sustained read-and-write transfer rate of up to 4 Mbytes/sec and burst transfers of 10 Mbytes/sec. The Beluga drive costs $2699; the 2.6-Gbyte LIM-DOW MO media costs $160. Nikon Optical Storage, Belmont, CA. (415) 508-4674.

Video-storage arrays work with Macintosh.

Two video-storage products yield fast video transfer rates with several tracks of audio for Macintosh computers. When configured as a multichannel PCI-bus system for use with Data Translation's Media 100 editing system, DataDock Jaz Arrays offer transfer rates of up to 225 kbytes/frame with eight tracks of audio and 250 kbytes/frame with two tracks of audio. The Ar-ray2000J, a removable media-storage device, combines a single-channel PCI SCSI-2 accelerator card and two 1-Gbyte Jaz drives. The Array2000J has transfer rates of up to 120 kbytes/frame with eight tracks of audio and 150 kbtyes/frame with two tracks of audio. The multichannel DataDock Jaz Array costs $3159; the Array2000J costs $1695. MicroNet Technology Inc, Irvine, CA. (714) 453-6000.

CRT display accepts both touch and pen input.

Based on high-resolution 15- and 17-in. Mitsubishi Diamond Scan CRT displays, the TouchPen monitor family not only accepts input from both a finger and a pen, but also automatically distinguishes one from the other. Resolution is 1024×1024 touch points in the finger mode and 2048×2048 touch points in the pen mode. Accuracy is to within ±1% in either mode with a 270-touch-point/sec conversion speed. The 15- and 17-in. monitors cost $1595 and $2125, respectively. MicroTouch Systems Inc, Methuen, MA. (508) 659-9000.

Signal-powered module converts RS-232C to RS-485.

Plugged into any computer's RS-232C communications port, the ADA485L converter allows the computer to function as an RS-485 controller. You can also use the ADA485L to connect an RS-232C device to an RS-485 multidrop network. Using a single twisted-pair wire for both transmitting and receiving data, the signal-powered ADA485L supports up to 256 RS-485 devices at distances of up to 5000 ft at data rates >115 kbaud. Because the converter automatically determines data direction, no control line is necessary. The ADA485L costs $94. Connecticut microComputer Inc, Brookfield, CT. (203) 740-9890.

Handheld remote control is mouse-equipped.

An interactive remote control (IRC) provides computer, home-electronics, and ca-ble-TV control in a handheld click-trigger case that incorporates customizable keypads and a thumb-actuated, mouse-pointing button. The mouse button delivers smooth 360° cursor control and pressure-sensitive speed control. The device is also compatible with Microsoft Mouse, Apple Macintosh, and Unix. The click-trigger case of the IRC enables single-handed pointing and clicking using either hand. Prices range from $10 to $50, depending on design-in costs, feature set, quantity, and hardware options. Interlink Electronics Inc, Camarillo, CA. (805) 484-8855.

Autochangers juggle CD-ROM and PD disks.

The PD/CD-ROM Library, a line of multidisk, multidrive autochangers, accesses a combination of rewritable, 650-Mbyte, phase-change-dual (PD) disks and CD-ROM titles at quad speed. The LF-J50A and the LF-J100A have a capacity of 50 and 100 disks, respectively. The LF-J50A holds up to two disk drives and stores a maximum of 33.4 Gbytes, and the LF-J100A uses up to four drives to store as much as 66.8 Gbytes. Both models use a 10-disk magazine for loading. An optical head automatically differentiates between a CD and PD disk. Each unit comes with a SCSI-2 interface port. The LF-J50A sells for $5995; the LF-J100A costs $9995. Panasonic Communications & Systems Co, Secaucus, NJ. (201) 348-7000.

Board connects digital cameras to PCI-bus computers.

Regardless of camera architecture, the Road Runner digital-camera interface directly places pixels into host memory for display in raster-scan order. A 132-Mbyte/sec burst rate minimizes the Road Runner's time on the PCI bus, and interrupt-driven synchronization consumes few host CPU cycles. From $2100. BitFlow Inc, Woburn, MA. (617) 932-2900.

UltraSCSI boards double server I/O.

Two PCI UltraSCSI host adapters provide fast throughput and multichannel I/O for PC/LAN servers and multimedia production applications. Equipped with two onboard RISC processors powering two independent UltraSCSI channels, the AHA-3940U achieves a maximum data-transfer rate of 20 Mbytes/ sec on each channel. The AHA-3940U supports up to 14 SCSI devices. The AHA-3940UW transfers data at up to 40 Mbytes/sec/channel and handles as many as 30 SCSI devices. Both adapters come in kits that include two internal SCSI cables, EZ-SCSI 4.0 software, 7800 Manager Set software, and CI/O Single Server Management software for remote monitoring. The AHA-3940U and -3940UW kits cost $499 and $599, respectively. Adaptec Inc, Milpitas, CA. (408) 945-8600.

PCI board combines au-dio and video.

Occupying a single PCI-bus slot, the ICE-Y/C integrated-compression engine offers such features as CCIR 601 video I/O, composite and S-video I/O, selectable compression ratios from 3-to-1 to 100-to-1, four channels of 16-bit CD-quality audio, bit-rate control using a JPEG codec, and PCI-bus mastering. The vendor offers an integrated SVGA-display option with scalable video in a window for running Windows applications in parallel with video and audio I/O. From $2495. Imagraph Corp, Chelmsford, MA. (508) 256-4624.

Large-format scanner resolves 1800 dpi.

Two units extend the resolution of the DSP3 series of scanners to 1200 and 1800 dpi using multiple cameras and 8000-element CCDs that yield 32% more resolution per camera. The FSS 18300 DSP scanner employs four cameras to deliver 1800 dpi; the FSS 12300 DSP uses three cameras to achieve 1200 dpi. Increased sensitivity of the 8000-element CCDs reduces scanning time for an E-sized drawing done at 400 dpi to 15 sec. All scanners in the DSP3 series are based on a 32-bit controller and a 30-MIPS DSP and run under DOS, Windows, and Unix/Motif platforms. The FSS 18300 DSP costs $20,900; the FSS 12300 DSP sells for $15,900. Ideal Scanners and Systems, Rock-ville, MD. (301) 486-0123.

LCD monitor offers quick response for full-motion video.

The LMV10 active-matrix, 10.4-in. LCD monitor displays 262,000 colors at a contrast ratio of 60-to-1 and offers a resolution of 640×480 pixels. The VGA-compatible monitor produces vibrant colors with a brightness of 80 cd/m². Rise and decay-response times of 30 and 50 msec, respectively, permit full-motion video. Mounting options include desk, wall, panel, and swivel. An optional resistive or capacitive touchscreen is also available. The LMV10 costs $1595. Datalux Corp, Winchester, VA. (540) 662-1500.

PC Card outfits laptops for sound.

Packing its own speaker and joystick port, the Gamejammer game-and-sound card plugs into any laptop computer equipped with a PCMCIA slot. Gamejammer is bundled with Midisoft's Audio Works to execute all sound functions, including record and playback of .wav, .mid, and .avi files. The card is compatible with Adlib and runs Sound Blaster games under Windows 3.x and Windows 95. An optional MIDI adapter enables Gamejammer to juggle up to 16 MIDI devices at once. The device costs <$200. New Media Corp, Irvine, CA. (714) 453-0100.

Enclosure kit puts surplus hard drives back to work.

The Quickdrive conversion kit lets you reuse old hard-disk drives as external backup devices or as port-able storage subsystems. Quickdrive consists of a compact enclosure that accommodates any 3.5-in. IDE hard drive, along with an internal power supply, a parallel port interface, and rails for shock-mounting the drive. Installation and device driver software is supplied for DOS, OS/2, and Windows. The kit costs <$100. H45 Technology, Mountain View, CA. (415) 961-9114.

8× CD-ROM drive has plug-and-play capabilities.

The FX800 series of 8× CD-ROM drives transfers data at a rate of 1200 kbytes/sec and has an average access time of 150 msec. Housed in a half-height, 5.25-in. form factor that mounts vertically or horizontally, the internal drive comes with an ATAPI IDE interface with a built-in 256-kbyte buffer. The plug-and-play FX800 runs under Windows 95 and OS/2 Warp. It is also MPC-3-compliant and reads CD Plus disc formats. Manufacturer's suggested retail price is $199. Mitsumi Electronics Corp, Irving, TX. (214) 550-7300.

DSP-controlled acquisition board samples at 1 MHz.

The RTI-2100, an ISA-bus data-acquisition board based on the ADSP-2101 DSP, provides sampling rates from 500 kHz to 1 MHz at 12-bit resolution. The board also delivers programmable gain amplification for ac-commodating full-scale signal ranges from millivolts to ±5V. The board offers 12- and 16-bit digital-to-analog channels and 24-bit digital I/O lines and comes with an array of standard software for DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. From $1260. Analog Devices Inc, Norwood, MA. (617) 937-1428.